Grand Justicar Malakar's genuine, heartbroken words had failed to sway the cynical populace of Valoria or the foreign delegates. However, they had a profound, unintended effect on the Paladins standing on the stage. For decades, many of them had abandoned the straight martial path to walk the twisted path of politicians. Over time, their perspectives, behaviors, and thought processes had gradually corrupted; they had become men focused on acquiring power for the sake of power, rather than for any higher, sacred cause.
But today, Malakar's speech had given them back their purpose. Their vision was clear; they finally knew what they were born to do.
In a grand, unified motion, every Paladin on the stage turned to the old Justicar. They raised their heavy greatswords in a proud salute and shouted in unison, as their voices echoed across the plaza-
"To serve Valoria, we live; to serve Vultar, we die!"
As the vow left their lips, a strange, divine aura seemed to radiate from their silver-gold armor, making them glow with an otherworldly, divine intensity. Whether it was a genuine blessing from the heavens or merely a collective trick of the mind brought on by sudden zealotry, Lorian could not tell.
Standing beside him, Baron Torin leaned in, and whispered, "My Lord, please forgive me for showing doubt, but I am afraid we have bitten off a bit more than we can chew."
Lorian didn't offer a spoken reply; he simply gave a grim, tight nod. This outcome was entirely outside his calculations as well. Below the stage, at least seven hundred Valorian city guards were standing in alert position, forming a perimeter around them. And directly in front of them stood forty around fanatical Paladins;- their eyes were blazing, and they seemed to be ready to fight with inhuman ferocity. Lorian felt his throat going completely dry as tension and fear gripped his chest.
He had no time to waste. Closing his eyes for a fraction of a second, Lorian did a rapid mental inventory of his available boons. Among his arsenal, only three options appeared to hold any tactical utility in a crisis of this scale- Weak Point Revelation, Diversionary Dust, and Aura of Trust.
He quickly dismissed the first. Weak Point Revelation was a formidable tool, but against heavily armored, battle-hardened warriors who knew how to cover their flanks, its efficacy would be severely limited. Afterall, these weren't the unarmored, sloppy pirates he had faced in the past. However, the far more pressing concern was their sheer numerical disadvantage. Their only real ray of hope lay in his Tier 2 Boon: Aura of Trust.
To ensure he wasn't missing a single detail, Lorian summoned the interface. A golden, translucent window appeared in front of his eyes:
[Aura of Trust]:
For two hours, anyone speaking with the User will find themselves naturally inclined to trust his words, even if he is making a bold claim or presenting a risky venture. This is not mind control, but a subtle enhancement of the User's natural charisma, making him appear profoundly credible and dependable.
The description was exactly as he remembered. Now, a critical tactical split lay before him. He had two choices- he could either use the aura on the Paladins, who were fewer in number and theoretically easier to contain, or he could target the Valorian troops below.
Lorian highly doubted that the Paladins, who were seasoned veterans and possessed of immense mental fortitude, could be easily swayed by 'enhanced charisma,' especially while they were actively boiling with righteous fury. Furthermore, the strange, divine glow emanating from their armor did little to inspire confidence in the boon's efficacy against them.
That left the Valorian troops. They were numerous, yes, but unlike the zealots on the stage, the city guards were visibly sitting on the fence. They were confused, leaderless, and deeply unsettled by the unfolding drama. They were perfectly vulnerable.
Lorian didn't need to convince all seven hundred of them. In his past life, during an Organizational Behavior lecture, he had learned about a psychological phenomenon called Informational Social Influence. When a large group is entirely unsure of how to act, they instinctively mirror the actions of a confident few. It was the same underlying mechanism that dictated why crowds blindly follow a leader, why investors copy "market movers," and why people look to those around them during a sudden emergency before reacting. If Lorian could convince even a small faction of the vanguard to stand down, the rest of the indecisive guards would inevitably follow their lead.
Lorian made up his mind and stepped out from the Veridian bench, walking towards the paladins with an air of absolute authority.
"Heaven favors honesty, and destiny favors the daring!" Lorian declared as his voice carried a proud, unyielding resonance, "You are favored by neither, Councilmen, and I invoke the divine to speak for us!"
With a swift flick of his wrists, he summoned two heavy pouches of Diversionary Dust into his palms and hurled them directly into the path of the advancing Paladins.
An explosion of dazzling, blinding light erupted across the front ranks of the stage. The fanatical knights shrieked, shielding their eyes as the flash stalled their momentum entirely. To the thousands of onlookers packed into the plaza, it was a staggering sight- a lone soldier of Veridia had stood defiantly against the Holy Council, invoked the heavens, and the heavens had answered him with a burst of blinding, divine light.
Lorian did not waste a single second of the chaos. Activating the Aura of Trust, he vaulted over the edge of the High Stage and dropped directly in front of the hesitating Valorian guards. The invisible golden glow of the aura was radiating around him, influencing the vision of the front-rank soldiers. The sheer weight of his sudden commanding presence made their spear tips waver.
"Soldiers of Valoria!" Lorian's voice rang out, carrying a profound, undeniable clarity, "You are not just any simple armed personnel. You are THE Valorian Guard. Your sacred duty is to uphold the law of this city. But look up at that stage! You just heard the Grand Justicar himself admit the truth. The law has already been breached. For they have little to no respect for the law of the land. That's why, the Council did not follow the Code of Succession. Rather, they fabricated a false alarm- a fairy tale of convenience, to justify a desperate, panicked power grab. It was evident to all. The Grand Justicar himself confessed."
He stopped and raised finger at the Valorian Guards, "But you! You, the proud Valorian Guards, upholder and enforcer of the Law of Valoria, just stood by and let them twist the law. You, have been kept from doing your true duty!"
He took a slow, deliberate step toward the Guard Captain, completely ignoring their wall of blades. Thanks to the boon, the captain didn't take any aggressive stance; instead, he stared at Lorian, with absolute awe.
"But a far greater duty stands before you right now," Lorian continued, "A duty to protect Valoria itself. And what is Valoria? Is it these stone walls? Is it the High Stage? Is it the Paladins, or even the royals? No! Valoria is the people standing in this plaza! Valoria is the citizens packed into these streets! Because a nation is nothing but it's people. These very people behind you, they are the REAL Valoria, not the one's standing in front of you! Your duty is to protect Valoria! The Real Valoria that desperately needs your care and protection!"
Lorian raised his hands, palms open, turning his back to the stage to face the line of guards completely.
"Look around you! Chaos is erupting, and the people are terrified. Your first and foremost duty right now is to protect them. Do not march up those steps to spill blood for a lie that has already unraveled. Turn your shields! Form a perimeter! Protect your people from the ensuing chaos and let the stage settle its own accounts. Be the shield of the living Valoria!"
With a decisive nod, the Captain spun on his heel, and held his heavy iron claymore high in the air to catch the attention of his entire battalion.
"Guards of Valoria! Lock your ranks and hold your ground!" the Captain bellowed, "Look to your fronts! We failed in our duty to uphold law, but our duty to the people remains unbroken!"
He slammed his heavy boot against the cobblestones, "We do not march up those steps! We do not spill blood for a lie! Turn your shields to the crowd! Form a wall of iron! Your command today is to protect the innocent from the ensuing chaos! Let the stage settle its own accounts- our fight is for the living city! Protect the people! Hold the line!"
The response was instantaneous. Driven by the Captain's decisive action and well-defined command, the front-rank sergeants didn't hesitate anymore. They slammed their heavy shields into the ground, facing them entirely to the High Stage. Seeing their leaders act with such fierce, honorable certainty, the rest of the seven hundred guards gladly followed suit, locking their armor together to form an impenetrable wall of protection around the citizens, leaving the fanatical Paladins completely isolated in their own bloodbath.